Tulip
by Stephanie18
Summary: Syl has moved in with Logan to help him out, but so has someone else. It's titled Tulip because of the ending. Tiny, itty-bitty spoiler/s.
1. The Arrival

Tulip  
  
A/N: Okay, so Syl moved in with Logan to help him with things, but, oh someone else has turned up. Asha. She's going to be there next season and I'll tell yuo what I - ow! Who just kicked me? Oh well. *rubs leg* Oh just read the story. Oh yeah, this is in Syl's POV. It's past tense because it was easier to write. So it's first person past tense. It's my first time with first person. So, it's a first person narrative? i dunno. That's probably why I got a 78 in English last year...  
A/N 2: I thought Thoughts was my last serious Dark Angel fic. Well, you all *do* love my humor stuff. =) And don't worry, I haven't become too serious. Humor is still coming.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel. Dark Angel belongs to Mr. Help The Boat Is Sinking and...uh...that guy. You know, that guy! You know who I'm talking about... he's that guy!  
  
Syl's POV  
  
  
I closed the door and walked into the penthouse. Even though I moved in to help Logan with his pain about two months ago, it still feels odd to be here. I hope everyday that Max will come back and I can leave knowing that she gets to have a happily ever after.  
  
I threw my keys on the kitchen counter and walked into the living room. I couldn't hear Logan typing. Strange. He's usually hard at work at this time.  
  
I walked over to the answering machine and pushed the button. I jotted down informant messages, then I heard Krit's voice.  
  
"¡Hola hermana!" Krit's voice played from the machine. Then a small laugh. "I just wanted to let you know that I got to Mexico all right. I'm with Jace right now and all is well. Well, I'll call you sometime this week. Be home! Adiós."  
  
I rolled my eyes. Be home. Krit expects the whole world to stop for him...but he is my brother.  
  
Another message started, but it was just a bunch of static. I couldn't make out any of the words, except for one. Logan. That message was definitely for Logan, but I had no idea from who.  
  
I shrugged and walked over to my bedroom. I had to do some redecorating, but Logan didn't mind. He didn't mind anything really. When Bling told me about Logan's fabulous cooking skills, I thought he was lying. It hadn't been anything but take-out and frozen pizza since I got here.  
  
I pulled out a pair of jeans and a gray sweatshirt from a drawer and changed into them. I didn't plan on going out that night. That night was the night. Logan was going to be sad. It'd been two months since Max died. Logan was always sad at the end of the month, but he got better pretty fast.  
  
I tucked my hair behind my ears to keep it out of my face and I heard the door open. Giggling? Was that giggling? I walked out of my bedroom and went to the door. Sketchy was supporting a very drunk Logan.  
  
"Hiya!" Logan exclaimed as I came into view. I glared at Sketchy.  
  
"Hey, I was trying to get his mind off-"  
  
"Yeah, yeah." I said, cutting Sketchy off. The last thing Logan needed to hear was a three letter word that begins with M, ends with X, and has an A in the middle.  
  
"Okay, well, I'll leave him here with you." Sketchy said and let go of Logan, who hobbled into the living room. I smacked Sketchy hard on the arm. "Ow!"  
  
"That's what you get!" I said angrily.  
  
"Sorry." Sketchy mumbled and walked off.  
  
I slammed the door. I wasn't really angry, I just needed to slam something. I needed to hear a loud noise. I walked in the living room and saw Logan sitting on the couch, with his hands over his face.  
  
"I'm not really drunk you know." He said. "I was just acting so Sketchy would let me leave."  
  
"Oh." I murmured feebly.  
  
There was another knock on the door. I got a little angry. If Sketchy was back...  
  
I walked to the door and opened it roughly, expecting Sketchy to be standing there, but the anger rushed out of me. It was a tired looking woman who looked to be in her late twenties.  
  
"Can I help you?" I asked.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm looking for Logan Cale." She said sweetly. Too sweetly for me.  
  
"He's here." I said. I felt Logan walk up behind me.  
  
"Asha?" I heard him practically whisper.  
  
I heard something in his voice that I didn't like. I could tell that I did not like Asha. 


	2. Two Weeks Later

It had been two weeks since Asha moved in. Apparently she'd made some enemies and decided to look up good old Logan. She was a bathroom hog and used all the hot water. It wasn't like she left the penthouse, so *why* did she need to shower every five minutes? It wasn't like anybody was going to see her.  
  
"Asha!" I yelled, banging on the bathroom door. If she didn't hurry up, I was going to be late.  
  
"Sorry, Syl." Asha said as she stepped out of the bathroom in her robe. I hated that robe. It's an evil robe.  
  
I growled at her, thanks to my animal DNA, and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door. I took a shower, then went over to the mirror. I cleared the mirror and slammed my small bag down on the sink. I couldn't keep my things in the bathroom anymore, because Asha had taken up my spot.  
  
I brushed my teeth then dried my hair. I smelt eggs. I hated that smell. That smell meant Logan was smiling. I knew I should have been pleased that Logan was smiling, but I hated the smiles. He smiled at *her*. He smiled at the beast. Asha. She didn't know who or what I was and she had no idea that I could kill her in 4.5 seconds if I wanted to. Actually, I did want to, but out of respect for Logan, I bit my tongue every time I wanted to say something nasty to her. Original Cindy didn't like her either. But there were reasons for that too. According to Original Cindy, she could interpret the looks Asha gave Logan, and she did not like them.  
  
I let out a frustrated sigh and tossed everything back into my small bag. I threw the towel roughly against the wall and pulled on my robe. Nice robe. Good robe. Not like the evil robe.  
  
I walked out of the bathroom and back into my room. Only one thing had changed in my room. Two weeks ago there had been a picture of Max on my dresser to remind me of my sister, but Logan got jumpy and asked me to move it so Asha wouldn't see it. As if I would let *her* in *my* room. Sometimes she forgot who was here first.  
  
I threw on a pair of jeans and a black sweatshirt. I loved that sweatshirt; it was a black hooded sweatshirt with orange and yellow flames along the sleeves and had my name on the front, encased in flames. I put on my watch and grabbed my backpack and walked into the kitchen.  
  
Asha and Logan were there, talking and smiling. I was sure that if I stayed in that kitchen I would've thrown up. I grabbed a Pop Tart, mumbled good-bye to Logan, grabbed my bike, and left the penthouse. I couldn't take the cuteness anymore.  
  
When I got to the street, I hopped on my bike and peddled to work. It wasn't really my bike. It was Max's. Logan mumbled something about somebody getting some use out of it and it sort of became mine. It was the same with Max's pride and joy, her Ninja. Only, the Ninja wasn't mine. It was only on loan.  
  
When I got to the Jam Pony, I once again felt like I was borrowing Max's life. Her bike, her job, her everything. I was borrowing everything from her... no, I was just keeping it all warm for her until she got back. That's how I thought of it.  
  
"Hey, girlie, you're late." Normal said. I just ignored him and walked to my locker, which of course, was borrowed from Max.  
  
"Hey sistah girl." Original Cindy greeted as I opened my locker.  
  
"Hey." I said tiredly.  
  
"What's Richie Rich done?" Original Cindy asked, becoming somewhat serious.  
  
"Oh, he was just laughing and smiling." I told her.  
  
"Boy is making Original Cindy straight up pissed off."  
  
"I know, but I don't want to say anything." I told her. "If he got all sad again, it'd be all my fault."  
  
"Who cares if Moneybags is sad? At least he'll remember what it's about." Original Cindy said.  
  
"Yeah." I said. "Listen, I'm gonna fake sick. I can't stand to be here right now. Will you take my bike?"  
  
"Sure. Pick it up at my place whenever." Original Cindy said.  
  
"Thanks." I said and walked by Normal. I put on my worst sick face and coughed everywhere. He pulled out his disenfectant and told me to go away.  
  
As I walked down the street, I wondered what everyone was doing. Logan and Asha were probably having a nice conversation, I reasoned. Krit was probably with Jace and Little Max doing fun things. And I was walking down the dirty street looking around me. Then I saw it. The Space Needle. I never did get what Max saw in that thing. I decided that tonight, no matter what, I was going up there. 


	3. Thinking and Mission

I climbed briskly to the top of the old building. I caught a glimpse of the broken windows, and climbed through one. I was on the edge and it was good. I walked to the edge and looked out at the city.  
  
'So this is why Max loved it. I can just imagine. Looking down at all those people, imagining their problems and pretending you're normal. I'd bet anything that's what Max did.' I thought.  
  
I liked it at the edge. I put my hands in my pockets and looked down at everything. The wind blew my hair to the side and it looked like a scene that I'd seen on television once.  
  
My pager started going off and I was pulled from my nice "me being normal" daydream. I looked at the pager. Logan.  
  
'Figures.' I thought bitterly as I climbed down the stairs. 'Asha probably needs something and I have to get it for her.'  
  
I walked over to the Ninja and got on. I just sat there for a minute, deciding whether to just drive the opposite direction and never look back. I realized that I couldn't do that, so I started the engine and went back to the penthouse.  
  
"This better be damn good!" I yelled as I slammed the door. "And damn important!"  
  
"Are missions important?" Asha asked as she came from the kitchen. Eyes Only missions were never fun. I only glared at her and walked to the computer room, where I knew Logan would be.  
  
"Logan, what do you have?" I asked. Logan turned in his chair and looked at me.  
  
"I need you to get some files for me." Logan said.  
  
"What kind?" I asked.  
  
"They're files on...your birth place." Logan said as Asha entered the room with her arms crossed.  
  
"My birth place?" I asked stupidly, then it dawned on me. "Oh! My birth place! Right! So, what do I have to do?"  
  
"There's a building. It's top security. You need to get the files on your birth place and your sister." Logan said, dodging any big words that would tip Asha off.  
  
"Right. I'll go get ready." I said and left the room, and I knew Asha was behind me.  
  
"What?" I asked, turning around to face her.  
  
"What was that about?" She asked innocently enough.  
  
"It's just something I have to do for Logan." I told her and went into my bedroom. She still followed me.  
  
"Logan never told me what you were to him." Asha said, leaning against the doorframe with her arms still crossed.  
  
"What business is that of yours?" I snapped. She picked then to be snotty? She had no idea what she was messing with.  
  
"Well, if I'm going to be involved with Logan, I need to know about the mysterious female that lives here too." Asha said. I snapped. I slammed her up against the wall and put my face dangerously close to hers. I could feel her shaking.  
  
"You will never be like that with Logan, do you understand me?" I snarled. She only nodded, terrified. I pushed her out of my room and changed quickly. I wore the civilian clothes that I had on the day of the raid. I thought it was fitting.  
  
I walked into the living room where Asha was sitting quietly on the couch, not daring to look at me. Logan looked from Asha to me. She obviously hadn't told him. That was for the best, I reasoned. No need to get Logan involved in our battle.  
  
"Ready?" Logan asked me.  
  
"Of course." I said confidently. He gave me the location and I was off. 


	4. Mistaken Identity

I parked the Ninja a block away from the building. I didn't want to announce my arrival to whoever was inside the building after all.  
  
I studied the building for a moment, then climbed the fire escape and got onto the roof. Skylight. Perfect.  
  
I walked over to the skylight and crouched down. I adjusted my vision and looked inside. It was dark and nobody seemed to be inside, so I opened the skylight and lowered myself, then dropped and landed perfectly.  
  
I looked around the room for a minute, then went over to a filing cabinet. It seemed like the natural thing to do. I *was* looking for a file after all. I opened one of the drawers and began searching for any information on the X-5's.  
  
Nothing in the first, so I moved onto the next, then the next, and the next, and the next. In the fifth drawer, I hit paydirt. I was on a specific mission for recent files on any X-5's and I wasn't going back empty handed.  
  
I pulled out a file on X-5 599, Zack. My greatest fear was confirmed. We just thought Zack was captured, but there it was in black in white, deceased. According to the file, he had shot himself. He always that he'd rather die than go back.  
  
I shoved the file into my backpack and kept looking. Max's record. Logan would definitely want to read that, so I shoved that in my backpack too. I was about to grab Brin's file when I heard the sound of a gun cocking right behind me.  
  
I slowly turned around, with my hands slightly raised and I almost fainted. I was staring right at Max.  
  
"Max?" I asked, not believing it.  
  
"X-7 452." She corrected. Damn they grew fast.  
  
It was so eerie. I wanted it to be Max, but it was just her cheap imitation. I knew she could easily beat me, so I took a step back and leaped on top of the filing cabinet. She shot, but I jumped and the bullet hit the filing cabinet. I jumped again and the filing cabinet fell over with a loud crash. I scrambled as the X-7 mentally regained her balance. That took about 1.5 seconds.  
  
I ran as fast as I could, the bullets just missing me by inches. My last chance was the skylight. I jumped on the lone desk in the room and got prepared to jump. Pain. She had shot me in the arm. I took no more time and jumped. I just grabbed onto the edge and I felt a bullet connect with my leg. I didn't pause, I pulled myself up and hobbled across the roof and jumped, landing shakily on my feet. I knew I had sprained something.  
  
I ran. I ran, zigzagging, to the Ninja. I got on without a glance back and sped off. I could hear gunfire just behind me, so I gunned the engine. In a few minutes, I could no longer hear the gunshots, but I knew people were being deployed to find me.  
  
I parked the Ninja in the parking garage of Foggle Towers and took damage inventory. The bike had been nicked, but nothing serious. I, on the other hand, was bleeding badly.  
  
I trudged up to the penthouse and leaned on the door, smearing some blood on it. Logan opened the door just as I fainted.  
  
  
"Asha!" Logan screamed.  
  
"What?" Asha asked, coming over.  
  
"Clean up the door, then close it." Logan instructed, carrying Syl's unconscious form into the living room. He laid her on the couch, then told Asha to get the First Aid kit.  
  
"Here." Asha grumbled and shoved it roughly to him. Logan slightly glared at her, then went to tend Syl's injuries.  
  
He took off her jacket and was glad it was a sleeveless shirt. There was no bullet, which Logan was happy about. He cleaned up the wound and bandaged it, then he rolled up her pant leg. Not very lucky. There was a bullet.  
  
"Asha, go start the car." Logan instructed as he picked up Syl.  
  
"Why?" Asha asked.  
  
"We're going to the hospital." Logan said. It was, of course, against his better judgment, but he couldn't treat that wound himself.  
  
  
I opened my eyes and quickly shut them again. Bright lights hurt. They hurt a lot. Then I realized it wasn't my eyes that hurt. My arm and leg were stinging pretty bad.  
  
I opened my eyes and saw that my pant leg was rolled up. I leaned forward a little and noticed that I had a bandage on my calf muscle. I looked at my arm and saw that was bandaged too. Then I remembered what happened, but I didn't know where I was. After a few minutes, Logan came into the room with a soda.  
  
"Oh, you're awake." Logan said and took the seat next to my bed. I knew why he looked so panicked. History does repeat itself after all.  
  
"Yeah." I said. "What happened? All I remember is up to leaning on the door."  
  
"Well, you fainted. I cleaned up the wound on your arm, but the bullet was in your leg, so I had to bring you to the hospital." Logan told me. I became alarmed and he noticed. "Relax. Ally McBeal checked in and she's going to check out."  
  
I smiled. Logan could really come up with those fake names. I sat for a minute wondering how he thought of it, then a doctor came in, followed by Asha.  
  
"So, Ally," The doctor said, looking at a clip board. "How're you feeling?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, I'm feeling great." I said.  
  
"Well then, if all is well, I suppose we can release you." The doctor said with a smile. "The nurse will be in in a minute with your things."  
  
The doctor smiled again and I looked questioningly at Logan.  
  
"Painkillers I suspect." Logan said. "And you're going to be on crutches for a few days."  
  
"Oh come on! It's only a gunshot wound! I'll be better in less than-"  
  
Logan cut me off with a sharp head motion to Asha. Even though I didn't really need the crutches, I'd have to put on a show otherwise she would suspect something. I showed my understanding by nodding. A smiling nurse came into the room with a pair of crutches and a small bottle of painkillers.  
  
"Here you go." She said and handed the crutches to me. I pulled on my thin blue jacket and rolled down my pant leg, then hopped off the bed and put my weight on the crutches. The nurse handed the painkillers to Logan and left.  
  
"Ready?" Logan asked me.  
  
"Of course." I said. "Oh! Did you get my backpack?"  
  
"Yes. It's next to the couch." Logan reassured me.  
  
  
After we all got into the penthouse, the only noise was the sound of my crutches tapping the floor. I made my way to my backpack and handed Logan the files. I debated whether or not to tell him about the X-7, but decided against it. Logan didn't need to hear the name. 


	5. Static

It had been three days since my incident. I was still hobbling around on crutches, pretending that I still needed them. True, my leg did sting a little when I walked, but only just enough to notice. Logan said that I'd have to be on them for at least four more days for Asha to believe that everything was as it seemed. That would be four more days without pay. Normal had agreed not to fire my ass, but I got no pay for this down time. I hadn't expected him to pay me, but I thought that just maybe the ice skaters were lacing up down below.  
  
I made my way over to the window and looked out. Alone in the penthouse again. Logan was happy again and I hated it. Asha obviously wasn't taking my warning seriously. I guess she figured that as long I was hobbling around on these crutches, I couldn't hurt her. Ha. Well, she took my injury time to make more moves on Logan, but bless his ignorant little soul. Still friends in his mind. That was Max. She was in the Good Place, keeping Asha away from her man. I smiled. Original Cindy was rubbing off on me.  
  
I gave up on Max being alive three days ago. I would've probably still of had hope if it wasn't for the X-7. For some reason, it just ran shivers down my spine and smashed my hope into a million tiny pieces. But there was something else that was smashing it into even tinier bits. Logan would get lonely eventually and Asha will be there. Max couldn't interfere from the Good Place forever.  
  
The answering machine pulled me from my thoughts. So, the phone had been ringing. Go figure. I hobbled over. Logan said even when I was home alone I should keep using the crutches. Asha could drop in at any second and could find me up and about.  
  
Another static message. This time the only word I could make out was... I? I? I did not understand that one bit. If I pieced together the two messages, they were: Logan I. Logan you what? Whoever it was needed a new phone.  
  
I heard the door close and looked up. Asha. Of course. I couldn't be happy forever.  
  
"Oh." She said and walked into her bedroom. That 'Oh' held a lot of unspoken things. And I did not like any of them.  
  
I hobbled over to the couch and sat down. I figured I would have a nice new chat with her today while Logan was off shopping. When she came out of her room, I called her over.  
  
"What?" She snapped at me. She really changed into the bitch that she really was when Logan wasn't around.  
  
"I want to talk to you. Sit." I said. She complied, but gave me a look.  
  
"What?" She asked.  
  
"Have you given up on your Logan mission?" I asked.  
  
"No." She replied, almost confidently. "I'm going to be with him."  
  
"No, you're not." I told her.  
  
"Why, do you like him or something?" She snapped. I weighed this possibility. I could lie and say that I was madly in love with Logan and maybe she would back off... nah, this was Asha.  
  
"No, it's just...I know things that you will never know and you cannot possibly be right for him." I said.  
  
"Oh? And why is that?" She asked, daring me.  
  
"Simply? You're not his type." I said, shrugging.  
  
"Oh? And what is his type?" She asked.  
  
"Smartass." I said.  
  
"Excuse me?" She exclaimed, standing up.  
  
"His type is smartass. You are not a smartass. You're a-"  
  
Before I could finish, we both heard the door close.  
  
"We'll finish this later." I said quietly to her, then walked into my room. I went to my dresser and pulled out my picture of Max. I let my crutches fall to the floor as I sat on the bed and looked at the picture.  
  
"I'm sorry." I whispered to the picture. "I am so sorry."  
  
I heard someone coming so I quickly put the picture back and shut the drawer and sat back on the bed. There was a knock on my door. Logan. Only Logan knocked.  
  
"Come in." I said.  
  
Logan opened the door and leaned on the doorframe, smiling.  
  
"Yes?" I prompted.  
  
"We're going out. Want come with?" He asked.  
  
'Crap.' I thought. 'I knew it. I knew Logan would get lonely and there she is! Damn!'  
  
"Um, no, but would you take Cindy with you? She lost her lickety-boo and needs to get her mind off it." I said, knowing that Cindy wouldn't let Asha get any ideas.  
  
"Sure." Logan said, still smiling. I loved the "help the downtrodden and sad people" side of him. Granted, it would be his downfall I'm sure, but it was nice now.  
  
"Great. You're a real pal." I said. Logan smiled and left.  
  
  
Logan, Asha, and Cindy left two hours ago and I was sitting at Logan's computer, trying to find out about the static calls. I'd processed them through the computer and the only thing I had found out about them was that the caller was female. I'd just been running a search on the female informants when I heard the door close. I quickly shut down the computer and rushed to the couch. I quickly turned on the TV. Charlie's Angels, I loved that show!  
  
"Oh, Logan!" I heard Asha exclaim, laughing. "You and that dance!"  
  
"Yeah, white boy was hilarious." I heard Cindy's unamused voice say.  
  
"Cindy, do you want something to drink?" I heard Logan asked.  
  
"Sure. Coffee." I heard Cindy answer, then she came into the living room and sat next to me.  
  
"So?" I prodded.  
  
"All over him. Original Cindy swears, Original Cindy almost had to lay the smackdown on her ass." Original Cindy said. "She backed off when Original Cindy used a few colorful words and phrases to tell her of the world of pain."  
  
"Great." I said. "Hey, Cindy, do ya think that, ya know..."  
  
"Max is watchin' out for Moneybags and keepin' Skankzilla offa him?" Original Cindy asked. I loved her skill of reading into things. "For sure. My boo would never let that-"  
  
"Here's your coffee." Logan said, smiling. Original Cindy took the coffee from him and gave me a look as she took a sip.  
  
"Logan!" I heard Asha call. "Can you come here and help me?"  
  
Logan just walked into the kitchen.  
  
"Boo is gotta be on overtime wit dat bitch." Original Cindy muttered. I silently agreed. Logan was getting lonely, and there was Asha. 


	6. I Saw Her!

There I was, sitting on the couch minding my own business, when the phone rings. I let the machine get it and it was static.  
  
I jumped up, forgetting my crutches, and ran to the answering machine. Static... static... static... static... a word! Love. The word was love. I put it all together: Logan I love. Whoever this girl was, she loved something.  
  
The phone started ringing again, but I just stayed by the answering machine. Static... static... static... word. You. I pieced it all together: Logan I love you. So, somebody thought very fondly of Logan.  
  
I went over to the computer and fed the message into the computer, but that time I got a much bigger reaction. After a few minutes, the computer stabilized the message and it became whole.  
  
"Logan, I love you. I'm sorry. I didn't tell you earlier. We were wrong not to say. I love you, I'm sorry."  
  
The voice was still too shaky for me to figure out who it was, but I knew. I knew. I grabbed a small recorder from the desk and played the message over, recording it.  
  
I deleted it then left the penthouse, completely forgetting my crutches. It was late, Asha and Logan were both asleep and I didn't care.  
  
I rushed back into the penthouse; I had forgotten my keys. That's when I saw her. In the camouflage clothes we all saw her in last. There she was, staring at me. I knew that she knew that I saw her. I knew that she also knew that I was going to tell him.  
  
I wondered how long she had been free as I picked up the phone. I dialed Original Cindy's number and held the recorder tightly. As the phone rang, I heard the roar of a bike engine. I hung up the phone and ran to the window. I forced it open.  
  
"Max!" I screamed out the window. "Come back! Don't run! Max!"  
  
I knew she could hear me, but I wondered if she was going to listen.  
  
  
The next morning, breakfast was silent. I pretended not to notice Logan and Asha throwing glances at each other. Finally, one of Asha's smiles got to me. I dropped my fork on my plate and it made a clatter, breaking the silence.  
  
"Logan! Damnit!" I exclaimed and pulled the recorder from my pocket. I pushed 'Play' and he listened. Asha listened too, but she didn't know what was going on.  
  
"Who is that?" Logan asked somberly.  
  
"Who do you think it is?" I snapped. "It's her! I even saw her last night! And you know what? I think she saw you with your playgirl! And because of that, I don't think she's coming back!"  
  
I stormed out of the penthouse, leaving the recorder behind. I walked to the parking garage. The Ninja was gone. Max was just reclaiming her property. I popped open the hood of the Aztek and hotwired it.  
  
I drove for a little while until I got to the Space Needle. I looked up at it for a minute, then went inside and climbed to the top. Once up there, I saw a figure huddled near the edge.  
  
'Damn you Logan.' I thought sadly. 'You really are an ignorant bastard, aren't you?'  
  
I climbed through the same broken window I did on my first time up there and walked silently over to the figure.  
  
"I thought you only came up here at night." I said quietly.  
  
"Well, I don't have anywhere else to go right now." She replied.  
  
'Damnit.' I thought. 'I can hear it in her voice. She's been crying.'  
  
"Max, are you okay?" I asked. Stupid question and I knew it.  
  
"Oh I'm just super." Max said sarcastically, even though she holding back tears. "Gee, the only man I could be close to is with someone else, but that's fine."  
  
"Max, he isn't with her." I said. Damn Logan. "She's trying for him, but she is nothing to him." Yet. "He wants you." I think. "Max, just go back and he will kick her out so fast."  
  
"Yeah, sure." Max said. "I've been watching for a few days. I've seen the looks and the smiles. I even saw you tell her off."  
  
"She's a bitch." I said. Hey, it was the truth. "Logan started to see that. Just go over there."  
  
"You think?" Max asked.  
  
"No, I know." I said.  
  
Max stood up and took a look at the city. That was when I knew I was right. Max did come up here to pretend to be normal. Max turned to me with confidence.  
  
"I'm going to kick her ass!" Max said with a smile.  
  
"If not you, me." I said. "You didn't have to live with her."  
  
Max and I walked down the stairs, talking and catching up. Her escape story was interesting. She had apparently been the good little soldier until she jumped the fence and ran like hell.  
  
Once we got back to Foggle Towers, Max took a deep breath before opening the door. Logan and Asha were in a fight. I had never seen them fight. Max and I walked in and slipped into the shadows to listen.  
  
"What do you mean?" Logan yelled. "You heard the tape! She's out there! I'm going to look for her!"  
  
"Logan!" Asha screamed back. "If you're going to do this... it's either me or her!"  
  
I knew right away Asha would regret that. Logan stopped yelling and just stared at Asha.  
  
"Get out." Logan growled.  
  
"E-excuse me?" Asha said. She clearly thought that she was going to win. Sorry Asha, better luck never.  
  
"I said, get out. I choose her." Logan said. "You've changed."  
  
Asha huffed and rushed out of the penthouse, not even noticing Max or I. I came from the shadows and smiled at Logan.  
  
"I told you I saw her." I said, then stepped aside, revealing Max.  
  
"Oh my God." Logan breathed. 


	7. Happily Ever Something Or Other

I walked into my room, satisfied. I had done something good. Very, very good. I opened my drawers and pulled out my clothes. I folded them all and put them into my dufflebag.  
  
I put my picture of Max safely in my dufflebag, next to my favorite sweatshirt. I smiled. There was really no reason to smile. Well, yes there was. I, Syl, had done something wonderful. No, magnificent. Hell, there were no words to describe what I had done.  
  
I looked around the room looking for anything I forgot. I took my few posters off the wall and put them in my dufflebag. There was nothing more of mine left. I zipped up the dufflebag and slung it over my shoulder.  
  
I didn't know where I would go. I would most likely go to Mexico to be with Krit and Jace. Yeah, that seemed like the right idea. I put my hand on the doorknob and turned around. I took one last look at the room I had been living in for the past three months. Good job, Syl.  
  
I walked into the kitchen, where Logan and Max were standing and whispering. When they noticed me, they abruptly stopped.  
  
"Aw, that's cute." I said sarcastically.  
  
"Ha ha, Syl." Max said sarcastically.  
  
"Uh, get some new clothes Max." I said with a fake 'ugh' expression. Max just gave me a sarcastic look.  
  
"I've just been informed that my clothes were all packed away." Max said. "I won't have any for at least a week."  
  
"Well then," I said and opened my dufflebag. I pulled out my favorite sweatshirt and pair of jeans and handed them to Max. "Here you go. Clothes."  
  
"Syl, I can't-"  
  
"Take them." I insisted. "Hey, I will be back to get them sometime."  
  
"Promise?" Max asked, accepting the clothes.  
  
"Promise." I said and smiled.  
  
I left the penthouse and walked a ways. I subconsciously knew where I was going, but it didn't hit me untiI was standing in front of the Space Needle.  
  
I picked a tulip that was growing and smelled it.  
  
'See, I take time to just stop and smell the flowers.' I thought, then smiled. I climbed up and crawled through the same window. I walked to the edge, just as the sun was setting.  
  
"To happily ever something or other." I said and threw the tulip out to the city.  
  
THE END 


End file.
